The Ransome Brothers by Rachel Schurig

Author:Rachel Schurig
Language: eng
Format: epub

* * *

Later that night, lying in my bed, Ruby tells me about the Purple Cat.

“When I moved out here, I felt really disconnected,” she says, warm breath dancing across the skin of my chest.

I run my fingers along the nape of her neck, smiling when I feel her shiver slightly against me. “You were homesick?”

She’s quiet for a moment, like she’s thinking about it. “Yeah, I was homesick. But it was more than that. I felt like…it was like I didn’t feel like myself anymore. I didn’t know where I fit.”

I think of those early days back in Ohio, when I’d moved the boys cross country to get some help from my family. I can definitely relate. “You told me you moved here for your daughter?”

“Grace got into this after-school program at Caltech. Kid has always been amazing at science” She laughs a little. “I never understood half the stuff that came out of her mouth, honestly. But this program was pretty prestigious, and I wanted her to be able to go.”

“You moved cross country for a high school science program?”

There’s another long stretch of quiet. “We both needed the fresh start.”

Her words come back to me, from that night when we first talked about Rebecca at that sports bar, weeks ago. “You’re being a bit vague, you know. Not giving me much to work with.”

I don’t have to be looking at her face to know she’s rolling her eyes. “Now you’re Mr. Open Communication, huh?”

I kiss the top of her head. “We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to. But we can.”

For a long while I’m sure she’s not going to talk. Her breathing evens out, her shoulders relaxing against my chest. I wonder if maybe she’s fallen asleep. Then she draws in a breath. “I had Grace when I was young. Too young. I was nineteen, and I was naïve. I didn’t know who I was, or what I wanted. Her father…my ex, Derek…he was older. He made everything so easy on me, you know? I never had to worry about anything because he would just take care of it. The house, our bills, all the decisions…I thought he’d take care of us forever.” She swallows. “I found out about the cheating when Grace was ten.”

“Shit, Ruby. I’m so sorry.”

“I stayed. I had no idea what my life looked like without him in it. I was sure I wouldn’t be able to do it, wouldn’t be able to take care of her on my own.” What she’s describing sounds so unlike the Ruby I know. That she would put up with a betrayal like that is shocking to me.

“How long?”

Her voice is hard when she responds. “Too long. He promised he’d never do it again, and I believed it because I wanted to. Because it meant that I could stay.”

“I understand doing something you regret out of fear. I think we’ve all done that.”

She sighs. “A few years later he went out of town.

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